How To Make the Most of Your First Year on TRT

As we’ve discussed many times on this site, the benefits of testosterone replacement therapy are many. Enhanced cognition, elimination of brain fog, more energy, better libido, the list goes on and on.

Among these benefits, the ability to put on lean muscle also piques people’s interest.

Many men hope to achieve dramatic changes in their physique on TOT.

And in order to do this it’s important to make the most of your first year. As long as your diet is and training is solid. Your body has suddenly gone from a low testosterone to a hormonally optimized state.

The increase in testosterone means your body has an enhanced rate of protein synthesis. Similarly, the testosterone saturates previously dormant (from low T) androgen receptors. The result is a very favourable environment for building lean muscle.

Here at TOT revolution we are passionate about bodybuilding. However, our message is about more than just aesthetics.

The ultimate goal of hormone optimization is better HEALTH and a better quality of life. And in this regard, developing muscle has very practical applications.

To make changes to your physique while on TRT it’s important to set clear and achievable objectives. How much muscle do you want to gain? And more to the point what’s realistic? If you’ve never picked up a weight in your life and don’t know how to eat properly, then your learning curve will be very steep.

My goal after one year of TOT was to gain 10 lbs of lean tissue. I knew this was doable after seeing other guys achieve similar results.

The main difference between those that gain muscle on testosterone replacement therapy and those that don’t is consistency. It doesn’t matter how often you lift weights, whether it’s three, four or five days a week. What matters is that you train every week.

Training five days a week for a month, then taking another month of because of commitments means your results will be erratic. Therefore, if you train less frequently but more consistently, you’ll achieve better results.

People say to me, ‘I wish I could spend hours in the gym every day like you!’ When you hear this from someone, rest assured they’ve never spent any time in the gym. What they’re really doing with this passive aggressive behaviour is rationalizing meagre results.

In reality I only train three days a week.

That’s three hours a week.

And the reason I achieve results is because this is something I can do consistently. Anyone can. Even if I have a busy schedule, I always get three hours a week in.

Follow a Training Routine

We’ve talked about maintaining consistency in your training. And in order to maintain this consistency, it’s important to follow a solid training routine. Routine is the foundation of building muscle.

If you’re changing routine every week, then you’re not giving your body enough time to adapt and grow. You should give a training routine at least two months. By training this way you’ll find out what works for you and what doesn’t. Then you can adapt and tweak programs to suit your needs.

We each have our own individual muscle fibre make up.

And you may have some body parts that respond vastly different to training than others. For example, my calves respond readily to minimal stimulus.

Whereas I need to work my biceps twice as hard to notice any change.

There are countless bodybuilding programs available on the internet. If you’re an experienced lifter, then try Rest Pause Training.

The best rest pause program being Dogg Crapp training by Dante Trudel.

For most of my first year of TRT I used Rest Pause Training with great results. This type of high intensity training takes some getting used to.

It’s important to take the time to learn how to take your muscles to true positive failure.

Now that I have conditioned my body to train to positive muscle failure regularly, I use what I believe is the ultimate way to life weights- Jim Brown’s Forged Training.

The key is to train regularly, intensely and follow a program for long enough to see results.

Nevertheless, once you stop making progress it’s time to switch things up. The body adapts quickly and needs to be challenged. As the saying goes, ‘The best workout is the one you’re not doing.

Do Whatever It Takes

The testosterone optimization therapy benefits are fantastic, however putting on muscle still requires work from on your part.

You must be prepared to do whatever it takes. Adopt the same attitude as the ancient Greeks. When they arrived on shore in enemy territory, the first order was to burn the boats. They committed themselves to victory.

You should be willing to make the short-term sacrifices for long-term success. Can you give up alcohol for example? How about ordering fruit at a restaurant when everyone is eating dessert?

One saying that always stuck with me was: ‘There is always another special occasion.’

There’s always another birthday, wedding or anniversary. And there’s always junk food at these events. Where do you draw the line?

I’ve mostly eliminated sugar from my lifestyle.

Now it doesn’t take much effort to pass up dessert.

However, when you begin to do this it can be difficult to avoid temptation. Seeing this through means your tastebuds will change.

Now I appreciate fruit even more, and things like strawberries taste especially sweet.

Final Thoughts

Leveraging the benefits of testosterone optimization therapy, and making the most of your first year is a combination of the right things done often.

You should aim to make a little progress every time you go to the gym.

The aim as Jim Brown preaches is to beat your training log each week (you do have a training log right?).

Even if you just do one more rep than the previous week – that’s progress.

Over the course of a year these small increments compound for incredible results.

When you adopt the right habits and mindset, achieving great results on your first year on TOT is a foregone conclusion.